Gabon Declares State of Emergency Over COVID-19, Revises Outlook

“Gabon has declared a state of emergency and adjusted its economic forecasts in light of the coronavirus outbreak. Preliminary estimates show the central African economy could shrink between 0.3% and 2.7% this year, Prime Minister Julien Nkoghe Bekale said in an address to the nation on Friday night. He added the pandemic could leave a hole of as much as 645 billion CFA francs ($1.1 billion) in the budget.”